Newsbytes - Internationa…ews 1983 May to 1994 June/Newsbytes - International Computing Industry News 1994 Edition - May 1983 - June 1994 - Wayzata Technologies (5045) (1994).iso/mac/Text/Mac Text/1992/nb920603

Text File | 1992-06-03 | 63KB | 1,390 lines

(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00001)

Data General Enhances Eclipse MV With Disk Array 06/03/92
WANCHAI, HONG KONG, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) --  Data General Asia
North has announced a new High Availability Disk Array (HADA)
mass storage subsystem for the company's Eclipse MV/Family
computer systems, including the new sixth generation Eclipse
MV/Family.

HADA/MV lowers the cost of system ownership by providing a high
degree of fault tolerance that virtually eliminates system downtime
due to disk failure, claims the company.

HADA/MV, the newest member of Data General's disk array family,
is a 2.5 gigabyte (GB) to 30 GB high performance, transaction-
oriented disk array which supports multiple levels of RAID (redundant
array of inexpensive disk) technology. According to the company,
the HADA/MV is the only disk array subsystem that provides
concurrent support for RAID O, RAID 1, and RAID 5 levels, as well
as independent drive operation.

An intelligent input/output processor (IOP), housed in the array
cabinet, supports multi-RAID configurations simultaneously so that
users can customize the subsystem to best meet their
requirements.

"HADA/MV provides users with high availability and improved I/O
performance at a very low cost, using industry-standard SCSI-2 disk
drives," said Elton Lee, Data General's regional customer services
manager. "This subsystem is ideal for MV customers with mission-
critical applications that require high systems availability, fault-
tolerance, and storage scalability.  HADA/MV's redundant
components and repair-under-power capabilities provide users with
virtually uninterrupted operation."

The company claims that HADA/MV's intelligent IOP controller,
multiple spindles, and data striping combine to deliver high I/O rates.
When configured as a RAID 1 group for high "write" applications or
RAID 5 group high "read" applications, HADA/MV continues to
operate without any loss of data during a single drive or bus failure.

In RAID 5 configurations, data parity automatically reconstructs the
failed drive's data once the drive is replaced.  Redundant IOPs
eliminate controllers as a "point of failure."

HADA/MV is designed for configuration flexibility and for scalable
storage capability.  It supports both 1.0 gigabyte and 500 megabyte
Winchester disk drives to meet the performance and capacity
requirements for most application environments.

The system can be configured to include in a single HADA/MV to
provide module redundancy in the event of an IOP failure or to
support dual-ported configurations.  HADA/MV can house up to 30
individual drives in a single cabinet for a maximum capacity of
30 GB.

The system provides virtually uninterrupted operation via redundant
disk and tape drives, interfaces, buses, and cooling and power
options and customer repair-under-power disk drives, tape drives,
and IOPs. These features make it easy for users to maintain, and
contribute to increased system availability, claims the company.

The system will be available in June, 1992.

(Brett Cameron/19920530/Press contact: Daniel Ng, Data General
Asia North, tel [phone];HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(HKG)(00002)

Hong Kong: Comshare Software Manages City Poly Dept 06/03/92
KOWLOONTONG, HONG KONG, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- Forty
department heads and senior administrators at the City Polytechnic
of Hong Kong are to use Comshare's Commander Executive
Information System (EIS) to manage budgets, track student
enrollment, and monitor staff workload.

The software will be supplied by Comshare's local distributor, COL
Ltd., under a contract valued at approximately HK$1 million.

The installation of Commander follows a decision to delegate
budget authority to the heads of individual departments, according
to John Dockerill, City Polytechnic's Associate Director
(Resources).

"Budget delegation is not difficult in itself, but it means that the
departments immediately have a requirement for much more
management information than they have available at the moment,"
he said. "Our administrative applications are largely computerized
already, but until now, there has been no need to deliver them
to the departments in readily available on-line form. Not all
our end users are familiar with computers, so we needed a
system that was easy to use, provided good information and
presented it in an attractive way."

Using a mouse in conjunction with Commander's color
graphical user interface, non-technical users will be able
to delve into central databases running on the City Polytechnic's
Digital Equipment VAX6240 administrative system.

They will access the central computer from IBM compatible
PCs. These computers, already linked to their own departmental
networks, will be able to switch to a separate EIS network with its
own Digital VAX 3100 server.

By mid-summer, the first application will be operational,
enabling department heads to allocate their budgets, then
monitor actual spending against their projections as the
academic year progresses.

The second application will help departments to project and
monitor student numbers in different courses, and to plan
resources accordingly. Also on the drawing board is an
application that will help administrators to monitor staff/student
ratios, analyze staff contact hours and calculate unit costs per
student.

Further in the future, Commander may be used to simplify an
existing application -- tracking student registrations during
the summer enrollment period. The EIS would help staff to
analyze places offered, student turn-up and numbers accepted
course by course.

Limited student access to the EIS - but not the administrative
applications - will also be permitted.

According to Management Information Officer George Harrison,
Commander demonstrated significant advantages over three
other systems considered by City Polytechnic.

"Commander runs well on the VAX platform, which cannot be
said of every EIS," said Harrison. "It enables users to build
models using information from existing databases, without
having to develop new systems. To build a customized
interrogation system would be extremely expensive and time-
consuming. Commander is very cost-effective and its presentation
techniques are impressive."

Commander applications are being developed jointly by COL
and City Polytechnic staff. An advisory group of end users
will ensure that the information available is pertinent and the
applications easy to use.

"It's important to standardize the screen formats and the
ways that users navigate through the system," said Harrison.
"We'll be developing a small manual for end users and we will
offer some training on demand, but the system is so easy to
use that no real training is required - just familiarization."

(Brett Cameron/19920530/Press contact: Mike Keaton, (COL)
Ltd., Tel: [phone]; HK time is GMT + 8)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00003)

Australia: AOTC's Melbourne HQ Decision A Boon For State 06/03/92
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- AOTC (Australian
and Overseas Telecommunications Corporation), the newly merged
Telecom and OTC, has chosen Melbourne as its main base of
operations. The Premier of Victoria, Joan Kirner, welcomed the
decision, claiming it as a victory due to her push to have the base
in Melbourne.

The decision almost reverses AOTC's January announcement that
the operations would be split between Sydney and Melbourne.
Although some operations would be based in Sydney, most would
be based in Melbourne, making it the effective headquarters of AOTC.
Melbourne was the site of the head office of Telecom, with Sydney
being OTC's main base.

The decision on which divisions would be in Melbourne or Sydney
was made based on where suppliers and customers were closest
to. AOTC's Melbourne operations will cover the Commercial and
Consumer, Network Products, and Enterprises units, as well as
the Telecom Research Laboratories. The Corporate and
Government, and International units will be based in Sydney.

"What we are signaling is that we are committing long-term for
the major business units that make up AOTC to be headquartered
in Melbourne," Frank Blount, chief executive officer of AOTC, said
at the announcement.

To further strengthen Melbourne's grip, Blount said he will spend
66 percent of his time there, with 20 percent spent in Sydney,
and the balance divided up amongst the other capital cities.

(Sean McNamara/19920512)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(SYD)(00004)

Australia: OTCI Tries To Step Into Russian Market 06/03/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- The international arm of
AOTC, OTCI (OTC International), is aiming to establish a satellite
network for the Russian Far East. OTCI business manager, Michael
Cahill, will be at a week-long conference at Irkutsk, on the shores
of Lake Baikal, to promote OTCI achievements in the area and to
show what the company is capable of.

Cahill represents the only foreign telecommunications agency
present at the conference, and will be pushing OTCI's ability to
supply the Russian provinces with domestic and international
services through DAMA-Net. DAMA-Net allows users to pay only
for the satellite time they use by using a system called "demand
assigned multiple access."

This also has the advantage of freeing the telecommunications
carrier from having to lease satellite time. OTCI is hoping its
recent establishment of international telephone services for the
Central-Asian republic of Kazakhstan will curry favor with the
authorities present at the conference.

The Kazakhstan deal will see the establishment of 60 international
circuits via an Indian Ocean satellite by September, as well as a
new digital international exchange. BY joining up with existing
telecommunications authorities, OTCI will be able to provide
103,000 existing subscribers to a far superior international system
"just by plugging them into an advanced satellite earth station
facility," Cahill said.

(Sean McNamara/19920512)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SYD)(00005)

Australian Psychiatric Database To Aid Diagnosis 06/03/92
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- A locally developed
database system for psychiatric patients has won a federal
government grant to aid its completion. The database, Clinical
Information System for Psychiatry will also work in conjunction
with a module which will aid diagnosis of patients.

The grant of AUS$26,933 was awarded to the University of New
South Wales (NSW) Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety Disorders.
Confidential patient data is protected by encryption, and only those
responsible for a particular patient's care can access the records.
Access is via PINs (personal identification numbers), and a trace is
kept on which files are accessed by individual PINs.

Even before the completion of the database, it is claimed to be the
world's largest computerized mental health patient record system,
with 100 clinics throughout NSW and Victoria using the system.

It is expected that once the revised system is finished, other
states will join the database. The diagnosis module and the
encryption are seen by project head, Gavin Andrews, as the
greatest advantages over CISP's rivals.

The federal minister for Health, Brian Howe, said at the
announcement: "CISP could also give us a comprehensive picture
of both the nature of mental health problems and disorders within
areas/regions and ultimately within and across states."

(Sean McNamara/19920512)


(NEWS)(TRENDS)(SYD)(00006)

Australia: Tasmanian Museum First To Use Vidediscs 06/03/92
LAUNCESTON, AUSTRALIA, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- The Queen
Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Launceston, Tasmania, has
become Australia's first museum to link its entire collection to a
videodisc.

The museum, like many others in Australia, uses the Titan
Information Management System to record data on its collection,
but in the case of the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery,
this information is linked to a visual database on videodisc.

The system allows researchers and library users to sort through
information on exhibits and photographs, as well as print a copy
of an image of the item through a coin operated printer, without
touching the original. The videodisc was developed as part of the
museum's strategy to automate as much of its operations as
possible.

Almost all of its natural history collections are entered into the
Titan database and are available to researchers and curators
on-line. With other areas of the museum also automated, it has
become one of the most technologically advanced in Australia.

Plans are also underway to begin linking other Tasmanian
museums into the Titan database via a wide area network, thereby
providing similar services across the island state. Titan is a post-
relational database which has extensive multimedia facilities,
making it ideal for use with videodiscs.

(Sean McNamara/19920512)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(NYC)(00007)

Micro Logic Offers Upgrade To Lotus Agenda Users 06/03/92
HACKENSACK, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 3 (NB) --
Micro Logic Corp., in a promotion it refers to as a "Lotus Agenda
Abandonment Upgrade," is offering more than a 50 percent price
discount to owners of Agenda that order Micro Logic's Info Select
Product.

Under the offer, Agenda owners that send in the title page from
their Agenda manuals will receive the $149.95 product for $69.95
(plus $4.95 shipping and handling). Announcing the offer, Micro
Logic President James Lewis said: "Agenda users who attempted
the long learning curve will appreciate getting started with Info
Select in as little as 15 minutes."

Questioned by Newsbytes, Lewis said that Agenda users will not
be able to transfer their existing Agenda data files into Info
Select because of the "involved structure that Agenda users. Our
format is much more free form than Lotus'."

Lewis also emphasized the ease of getting into Info Select, saying:
"We feel that Info Select is 10 times easier to learn than Agenda.
We have learned a lot from our experience as the first to have a
real random information processor with our earlier product --
Toronado. You learn from real-world experience and we certainly
have that. I expect us to be at the top of the PIM market as the
market develops."

Lewis also told Newsbytes that the Windows version of Info
Select  is expected at "the end of the summer."

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19920529/Press
Contact: Richard Leeds, Computer Product Introductions Corp.,
206-451-9788)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00008)

 ****IBM Adds Multi-processor PS/2 Server 06/03/92
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 3 (NB) --
Playing catch-up to arch-rival Compaq and a handful of other PC
manufacturers, IBM has extended its line of personal computer
servers with the PS/2 Server 295, the first PS/2 model to allow for
multiple processors. The Server 295 will be offered with a choice
of one or two Intel 486DX processors, running at 33 or 50
megahertz (MHz).

A design that places the processors on plug-in modules will make it
possible to use even more powerful chips in the Server 295 as they
become available, IBM spokeswoman Tara Sexton told Newsbytes.

Sexton agreed that the Server 295 will compete with the Systempro,
which was the first multi-processor personal computer and took PCs
into a new league when Compaq introduced it in 1989. IBM
compares the power of the Server 295 to that of minicomputers.

Sexton said the Server 295 is meant for client-server computing, in
which users at desktop workstations request not only data but
processing services from the central server. In contrast, other IBM
servers such as the PS/2 Model 57, Model 90, and Model 95 are
meant mainly to be used as file servers whose job is to store data,
or as print servers.

IBM said the system will offer sophisticated system administration
capabilities and a large quantity of heavy-duty disk storage. In
addition, the Server 295 offers safeguards such as "hot disk
swapping," in which a problem disk can be replaced without
shutting down the system, and redundant elements such as dual
power supplies.

It features dual Micro Channel buses with a total of 12 expansion
slots and a high-speed inter-processor bus that can transmit 64-bit
data at 200 megabytes (MB) per second, IBM said.

The Server 295 is the first fruit of a development alliance between
IBM and Parallan Computer. To be available in October, it will come
with the OS/2 operating system, 32 MB of error checking and
correcting (ECC) memory, a dual-channel Small Computer Systems
Interface (SCSI) adapter, and a 1.44 MB, 3.5-inch diskette drive.
The machine can be configured to meet customers' orders, IBM
said.

Equipped with a single 33 MHz 486 processor, the Server 295
will sell for $29,060. A version with a 50 MHz 486 chip will
cost $34,060.

(Grant Buckler/19920602/Press Contact: Tara Sexton, IBM,
914-642-4662)
(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00009)

Strifler Group First In Series Of Systemhouse Buyouts 06/03/92
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- SHL
Systemhouse, a Canadian systems integrator, has purchased The
Strifler Group, a Texas-based information technology consulting
firm. The purchase is the first in a series Systemhouse plans
across the United States, said John Bunnell, executive vice-
president.

The Strifler Group is a small consulting firm focusing on open
systems and client-server computing. Bunnell said Systemhouse
is negotiating the purchase of several such firms in an effort to
build its presence in the client-server and open systems
marketplace.

This market is a relatively young one in which there are a number
of small companies just starting to outgrow their founders' ability
to run them, Bunnell said, and his company is "taking advantage
of that as part of our over-all growth strategy."

The Strifler Group acquisition is a "jump-start" for Systemhouse's
Central Operations group, based in Dallas. Bunnell told
Newsbytes he started the group as a "one-man office" in February,
and the acquisition of Strifler, all of whose employees will come to
Systemhouse, boosts the group to 50 people.

The Strifler Group employees will form the "whole middle tier" of
the group, Bunnell said, and some additional staff are also being
hired.

Full terms of the agreement have not been released, but Bunnell
said it was a stock-swap transaction worth "well over $4 million."
Strifler had 1991 revenues of about $4 million.

Stan Strifler, president and founder of The Strifler Group, will
become director of systems integration in Systemhouse's
Central Operations.

(Grant Buckler/19920602/Press Contact: John Bunnell,
Systemhouse, 214-369-5456)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00010)

New For PC: Delrina Shipping DosFax Pro 06/03/92
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- Delrina
Technology has begun shipping DosFax Pro, the plain-DOS
version of its WinFax Pro facsimile software for Windows.

DosFax Pro is fax communication software that runs on the DOS
operating system. Company spokesman Josef Zancowicz said it
is essentially a DOS version of WinFax Pro, Delrina's popular fax
communications software that requires the Microsoft Windows
operating environment.

DosFax Pro includes scheduling and fax broadcasting features
and the ability to attach documents from various DOS applications.
It works with any Sendfax, Class I, or Class II fax modem, Delrina
officials said.

According to Delrina, the software provides pop-up menus and
graphic dialog boxes. It works like a printer driver, so that sending
a fax is essentially like printing a document. HP LaserJet Series II
and Epson printer emulations make faxes sent to any Group III fax
machine look as if they were laser printed, the manufacturer said.

Files from different DOS applications can be combined into a
multi-page document for distribution to one or more people, with a
personalized cover sheet for each addressee, according to Delrina.
The software can also add company logos and other graphics to
cover sheets. Faxes can be sent immediately or scheduled for
later transmission to save on long-distance charges.

The suggested list price for DosFax Pro is US$79 or C$89.
Delrina is also offering a scaled-down version called DosFax Lite
for manufacturers of fax boards to bundle with their hardware.
Users who get the Lite version with a fax board will be able to
upgrade to DosFax Pro for US$39 or C$48, Delrina said.

(Grant Buckler/19920602/Press Contact: Josef Zancowicz or
Shelly Sofer, Delrina, 416-441-3676)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(TOR)(00011)

New Spreadsheet For Psion Series 3 Pocket Computer 06/03/92
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- A new
spreadsheet package for the Psion Series 3 pocket computer
reads and writes Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet files, according to
Compulys, Canadian distributor for Psion.

Psion developed the software, described as "fully compatible"
with 1-2-3. Patrick Taylor, vice-president of sales and marketing
at Compulys, said the package can work with Lotus 1-2-3 files
downloaded to the pocket computer through its serial port from a
DOS PC or from an Apple Macintosh. However, he admitted,
some commands are different.

The software includes financial, mathematical, logical, range,
string, statistical, database, and table functions, according to
the manufacturer. It also produces graphs and charts, which can
be saved for inclusion in files created with other applications
packages, such as word processors.

Taking advantage of the Series 3's multitasking capabilities, the
spreadsheet can run at the same time as other applications,
Compulys said.

Worksheets can be as large as 256 rows by 8,192 columns, with
the additional limitation that files cannot take up more than 45
kilobytes (KB) of memory. The Series 3 spreadsheet will not
operate on the version of the Series 3 computer with only 128 KB
of memory.

The software has a list price of C$199.

(Grant Buckler/19920602/Press Contact: Patrick Taylor,
Compulys, 514-333-0609, fax [phone])


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(LON)(00012)

PDN Access War In Europe Hots Up 06/03/92
PARIS, FRANCE, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- British Telecom has opened
a Paris-based business center, known as its Eurocenter, that will
coordinate the activities of BT offices around Europe. The idea
of the center is to act as a focal point for BT's services in Europe,
providing a 24-hour, Europe-wide multi-lingual hotline.

The primary activity of the center will be for European support
of BT's rapidly-expanding packet data network (PDN) services,
known under the brand name of Global Network Services (GNS).
GNS is the umbrella name for BT's myriad PDN services, which
used to be known as Dial Plus and PSS in the UK, and BT
Tymnet around the world.

GNS currently offers managed data network services in 107
countries, with what BT refers to as "one stop shopping,"
essentially an end to end PDN service in 24 countries around
the world.

According to BT, the opening of the Eurocenter will act as a
springboard for BT's planned expansion of PDN services in Europe,
with 100 new access ports planned for 25 countries in the near
future.

Peter Cook, BT's global product and marketing manager for GNS,
said that the Eurocenter and BT's enhanced GNS will appeal to
companies with offices in more than one country.

"In addition to currency and billing flexibility, preferential
pricing and customized service, the Eurocenter will now enable us
to offer exactly what our customers want -- local management and
support from BT, without then needing to spend time and money
training their own staff in either technical or language skills,"
he said.

BT faces some stiff competition in Europe, Newsbytes notes.
Sprintnet, the new name for the old Telenet network, is continuing
apace with its European expansion plans. The global PDN has
recently opened a number of dial-up ports across Western and
Central Europe.

Newsbytes readers may be interested to know that the bulk of
these ports, some of which include support for 9,600 bits-per-
second (bps) data transmissions, allow host-paid (i.e. no ID
required) access to on-line services such as Mnematics in New
York, Compuserve, and Dialcom (Telecom Gold).

Sprintnet's new access nodes are as follows. Further information
is available on-line by calling a Sprintnet dialup port, keying in
<return> <return> @ <return> and, at the @ prompt, keying in C
20200142 <return> and then an ID of "INTL/ASSOCIATES" plus a
password of "INTL" when prompted.

This service is provided free of charge by Sprintnet and contains
a wealth of information on the international service. The new
access codes for Sprintnet are as follows:

Austria, 1 (area code), Vienna (city), 504-2811 (local number);
Denmark, 1, Copenhagen, 3296-0411; Ireland, 1, Dublin, 614-466;
Scotland (UK), 31, Edinburgh, 459-1290; Sweden, 31, Gothenburg,
27-87-92; Sweden, 40, Malmo, 21-47-55; Sweden, 8, Stockholm,
35-22-60; and four in the former USSR, 4212, Khabarovsk, 38-0571;
044, Kiev, 245-0379; 3422, Perm, 65-9636; 8642, Samara, 33-0021.

Intending users of these new Sprintnet nodes should contact their
on-line service providers for details of how to log on via Sprintnet.
Alternatively, they can call Sprintnet's 24-hour customer service
center in the US on 404-859-7700.

(Steve Gold/19920602/Press Contact: Jenny Bailey Associates -
Tel: [phone])

(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00013)

UK: Lotus To Intro cc:Mail 4.0 For DOS Users 06/03/92
STAINES, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- Lotus
will unveil a major upgrade to its cc:Mail package for DOS at the
Networks '92 show in Birmingham later this month. Version 4.0
will continue to sell for UKP 235, with existing users allowed a low-
cost upgrade path for UKP 75 or 100, depending on the version
they are upgrading from.

According to Nigel Thomas, product marketing manager in Lotus'
business communications group, the enhancements in cc:Mail's
MS-DOS 4.0 demonstrate the company's commitment to the DOS
operating system environment. Despite the surge of interest in
alternative operating systems, Thomas said that DOS sales still
account for more than 50 percent of cc:Mail sales.

"With close to two million seats installed worldwide across
different platforms, cc:Mail continues to set the standard for
electronic mail systems," he said.

Key enhancements of version 4.0 of cc:Mail include greater ease of
use when running the package in terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR)
mode. The TSR mode has been enhanced so that the package
occupies just 1.5 kilobytes (KB) of memory when running in
expanded memory specification (EMS) mode. The built-in
spellchecker has been expanded to 190,000 words.

One other new feature of version 4.0 is that a new version of
"Admin," the administrator module for the package, has been
included. Another interesting feature is that third-party
applications software can be launched from within text and e-mail
documents. This means, for example, that a binary file attached
to a cc:Mail message could be executed from within the e-mail
message as the recipient reads it.

Faxview, previously a separate package, has now been bundled
with the new version. This module allows users to view faxes as
incoming mail messages under cc:Mail.

Lotus cc:Mail is a local area network (LAN) electronic mail
system. The package runs under DOS, Mac, OS/2 and Windows.
Users of version 3.15 of the package can upgrade to version 4.0
for UKP 100, with later users upgrade to version 4.0 for UKP 75.

(Steve Gold/19920603/Press & Public Contact: Lotus Development -
Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00014)

UK: Tandon Unveils Cyrix 486SLC-Based Notebook 06/03/92
HAYES, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- Tandon has
become the second manufacturer (after Wyse recently) to unveil a
Cyrix CX486SLC microprocessor-based notebook. The NB 486SLC
notebook is based around a 25 megahertz (MHz) chipset and
prices from UKP 1,699 upwards.

The 80 megabyte (MB) hard disk version sells for this price,
while a 120 MB hard disk version adds an extra UKP 200 the price
tag. Deliveries of the machine start within the next week, the
company claims.

Stan Buffrey, sales director of Tandon, said that the new
notebook is the first to actually ship in the market, which gives
Tandon a good sales opportunity.

"The Cyrix chip is tailor-made for integration into notebook
products and this move was a logical development for Tandon. The
performance of the chip coupled with the price of the product
makes the NB 486SLC/25 an extremely attractive proposition," he
said.

The new notebook features VGA graphics and has a higher
specification to the competition. Four MB of RAM comes as
standard, as does a high capacity hard disk. Other standard
features include a Logitech Trackman portable mouse and
Windows 3.1 and MS-DOS 5.0

(Steve Gold/19920603/Press & Public Contact: Tandon -
Tel: [phone])


(NEWS)(IBM)(LON)(00015)

UK: AST Bundles Free Modem, Shuffles Portable Pricing 06/03/92
BRENTFORD, MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- AST
Europe has announced a special bundle for its range of Premium
Exec notebook range of computers, as well as slashing its color
notebook prices.

Until the end of August, AST's Premium Exec 386SX/20 and 25,
as well as the color 386SX/25C, will come bundled with the
company's internal data/fax modem.

In parallel with the bundling deal, AST has cut pricing on its
Premium 386SX/25C color notebook by UKP 400 -- down to
UK 2,295 for a 60 megabytes (MB) hard disk, and down to UKP
2465 for an 80MB hard disk. A new 120MB option, costing
UKP 2,765, has been introduced on the machine as well.

Graham Hopper, AST's UK general manager, said that, for no
extra cost, Premium Exec users will be able to send and receive
faxes, as well as transfer files from almost anywhere. "We're
setting the standards for price and functionality in the PC
industry," he said.

The Premium Exec modem is a 2,400 bits-per-second (bps) unit
with 9,600 bps fax facilities. The unit includes MNP Class 5 and
V.42bis data compression and error correction facilities.

(Steve Gold/19920603/Press & Public Contact: AST Computer -
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone])


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(TOR)(00016)

Canada's Geac Acquires Albion Of Australia 06/03/92
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA, 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- Geac
Computer Corporation has acquired the assets of Albion Computing,
an Australian manufacturer of manufacturing and distribution
software. Geac acquired Albion through its Australian subsidiary
for about C$600,000 and a 15 percent cut on profits for one year.

Albion will complement Geac/Fact, the manufacturing software
operation Geac acquired earlier, said company spokesman Harrison
Cheung. The existing Fact operation concentrates on manufacturing
software for the food and chemical industries, Cheung said, while
Albion's focus is on the automotive and textile businesses.

The deal gives Geac rights to Albion's software products. A number
of employees of Albion will also join Geac in Australia. For the
time being Albion will operate as a separate Geac subsidiary, as
Fact does, but in the longer term the company will probably be
integrated into Geac, Cheung said.

Cheung said Geac is using Australia and New Zealand as a
springboard to build its market presence in the Far East. Geac is
in the process of signing up resellers in Japan, China, Korea, and
other countries of the Pacific Rim, he said.

To date, Geac has sold manufacturing and distribution software
mainly in Australia and New Zealand, while in the rest of the world
the company is best known for its library-automation software.
The manufacturing and distribution products will eventually be
introduced to Europe and later to North America, Cheung told
Newsbytes.

(Grant Buckler/19920603/Press Contact: Harrison Cheung, Geac,
416-475-0525)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(TOR)(00017)

IBM, Lexmark Sue Printer Cartridge Recycler 06/03/92
ARMONK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 3 (NB) --  IBM and
Lexmark International have filed a lawsuit against a North Carolina
printer cartridge recycler and two of its dealers. IBM and Lexmark
claim that Lasertek, a company that modifies and refills spent
printer toner cartridges, is violating IBM's trademark and copying
its packaging design.

The suit, filed in Asheville, North Carolina, also names two
Lasertek dealers, Advanced Business Equipment and Office First
Corporation, as defendants.

Lexmark, which was spun off from IBM last year, makes and sells
the cartridges under license from IBM. The Lexington, Kentucky
company also recycles materials from used IBM LaserPrinter
toner cartridges, but does not sell refilled cartridges.

The suit claims that Lasertek reconditioned and refilled
one-time-use IBM LaserPrinter toner cartridges and remarketed
them in packages designed to mimic genuine IBM toner cartridge
packaging.

It also charges that Lasertek falsely claimed the refilled toner
cartridge "carcasses" met IBM and Lexmark specifications and
performance standards, and that Lasertek portrayed itself as an
authorized reseller of genuine IBM toner cartridges.

IBM spokesman Brian Doyle said the plaintiffs' concern is that
the printer cartridges are not simply receptacles but contain
mechanical parts which degrade with use. Thus, he said, it is
misrepresentation to claim they are equivalent to new cartridges.

IBM and Lexmark are seeking a preliminary injunction that would
require Lasertek to cease using the IBM trademark, change its
packaging and clearly label its products to avoid further confusion
among dealers and consumers. The two parties also seek
unspecified monetary damages.

(Grant Buckler/19920603/Press Contact: Brian Doyle, IBM,
914-765-6432; Joe Frazer, Lexmark, 606-232-6906)


(NEWS)(IBM)(TOR)(00018)

Data General Fills Out 486 PC Line 06/03/92
WESTBORO, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 3 (NB) ---
Data General has filled a gap in the middle of its line of PCs based
on the Intel 486 processor with an upgradeable desktop unit, the
Dasher II-486/33LE.

The new model comes with the 33 megahertz (MHz) version of the
486DX chip, but can be upgraded to the faster 50 MHz version. It
uses the Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) system
bus and a has a large desktop chassis with five expansion slots
and four half-height bays for storage devices.

Other standard features include four megabytes (MB) of RAM
upgradeable to 28 MB on the main board, either a 3.5-inch
(1.44 MB) or 5.25-inch (1.2 MB) diskette drive, and a Super VGA
display adapter with one MB of video memory. An optional 128
kilobyte (KB) direct-mapped cache lets users increase
performance by as much as 40 percent, according to the vendor.

In addition to the 50 MHz chip, the new machine will also
support Intel's 33/66 MHz 486 microprocessor when the chip
becomes available later this year, Data General said.

Hard disk drives are available in capacities from 120 MB to
one gigabyte (GB), Data General said. The maximum storage
that can be installed in the machine is 1.5 GB.

Company spokesman Chris Sampson said this is Data General's
second 486DX-based PC. The top-of-the-line Dasher PC, the
II-486/33TE introduced in January, offers eight drive bays, 10
expansion slots, and maximum memory capacity of 2.5 GB.
Prices for the tower-configuration TE model start at close to
$10,000.

Data General also offers a PC based on the less powerful
486SX chip.

Prices for the Dasher II-486/33LE start at $4,095. The system
will be available later this month.

(Grant Buckler/19920603/Press Contact: Chris Sampson, Data
General, 508-898-4288)

(EXCLUSIVE)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00019)

 ****Hayes, Rockwell on ISDN/Wireless: Exclusive Interviews 06/03/92
NORCROSS, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- Standards,
wireless data, and ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Networks)
were all discussed by Hayes Microcomputer Products founder
Dennis Hayes and Rockwell executive Dwight Decker in an
exclusive Newsbytes interview.

Hayes addressed the fact that many makers of ISDN equipment are
using super-sets of Hayes' AT command set, a system familiar to
most modem users. Besides Hayes itself, GPT and Northern
Telecom use the system, as well as the Escape Sequence with
Guard Time patent Hayes has licensed to Rockwell. If Rockwell
were to use the patent in its ISDN equipment, it would have to get
a separate agreement with Hayes, since that is not in the "field of
use" covered by the modem deal, he said.

Decker of Rockwell noted that while his company makes some
ISDN chips, for trunk-line connections, it's not a big piece of his
company's business. Hayes added that his company's patent
rights expire in the year 2002, and modem sales should continue
strong through that date.

Decker, for his part, reaffirmed his company's commitment to
industry standards. That is why the company licensed the Hayes
patent. "There's been a concern in the industry ever since the
patent was upheld. Modem makers have been wondering about
getting a license and using this technology. For our customers
we're resolving all these concerns."

The next standard for all modem makers, dubbed V.Fast, will be
truly fast, added Decker. "We're playing a role in trying to
craft that standard. We expect it to run at 28,800 bits-per-second
(bps), twice the V32bis speeds" of 14,400 bps.

Hayes disputed the contention that his company has become
more engineering-oriented and less marketing-driven the last few
years, suggesting observers are confusing slick advertising with
the timing of products to meet demand. He noted that his
company's Optima line of modems, which meet V.32 standards,
has ramped-up production quickly yet doesn't cannibalize sales
of his higher-end Ultra line of modems, which also meet Hayes'
own V-Series standards and feature an X.25 PAD. "We segment
the market and we're providing technology to address it, in
packages sold through different channels. The 2,400 bps modems
sold at Sams Wholesale Club, cost under $100, but they're
different from the SmartModem 2400."

Hayes adds that more and more, American business is coming to
understand something he's preached since founding his company
15 years ago. "We've always felt that engineering, marketing and
production have to come together. So does service. If you have a
modem that needs repair, and have to send it in, 98 percent of
those that get returned go out the next day. In no case will it take
more than three days. And we don't just send you packing if you
need to talk about someone else's software. If we know we tell
you, or we go find out."

Hayes and Decker also addressed the subject of wireless data
communications. Many corporate customers are starting to use
regular landline modems for wireless connections, using products
like the Spectrum Axsys connector to link their laptop computers
to their cellular phones. For his part, Hayes said the V.42 and
V.42bis error-correction and compression standards are crucial in
a wireless environment. "The problem with cellular phones is the
fact that the analog cellular phone has characteristics which
are not conducive to data," he said, meaning error-correction is
crucial to getting data through at all.

"Testing has been done, and if you stop the car, as you should,
when you want to use the modem, and if you're in a reasonable
proximity to the cell, then you can come through pretty well. You
can use protocols like Zmodem that will pick up the file transfer
where it gets interrupted, if that does happen. And you can get
pretty good results. The problem with some approaches is they
require special modems on the remote workstation, and they
require special modems at the phone office where the transmitters
are. That is a prohibitive approach. The device on the
workstation needs to go through the phone network, whether wired
or wireless, and make the connection. If you take that same
equipment and go home, you ought to be able to plug it in and
work with it. That's the design parameter that needs to be worked
in."

Hayes also predicted that digital cellular service, and packet
cellular data services, should quickly replace the use of analog
modems on wireless links in any case. "As that infrastructure
comes in place we'll have a wireless net that can support
significantly higher transmission rates than the analog network
can now support." Meanwhile, today's wireless data terminals,
like the Federal Express SuperTracker, will become wireless
workstations, he predicted.

Decker added that, while Rockwell is not yet in the wireless
business, and it may be over-hyped, "it's going to be a very good
marketplace" which his company will enter with chip sets when
the time is right.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920603/Press Contact: Beth Logan, Hayes,
404-840-9200)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00020)

Teknekron to Make CDMA Cordless Phones In Korea 06/03/92
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 2 (NB) -- Teknekron
Communications Systems has signed a deal with Taihan Electric
Wire of Korea to create new digital cordless phones under the
Code Division Multiple Access standard. The new phones will be
aimed not only at the US residential market, but at new office and
public pay phone applications.

The new products will be based on the Digital Cordless Phone
Systems specifications which Teknekron has developed, and which
already have been licensed to other manufacturers. The Korean
company will market the phones, which work in the 900 MHz
frequency band using special frequencies already authorized for
cordless phone use by the Federal Communications Commission.
Residential phones will be delivered starting in July, 1993,
while business and pay phones will follow.

The use of the CDMA technology will reduce signal interference
and eliminate privacy problems. CDMA technology assigns an
individual code to each user's telephone signal, then spreads
digitized speech across a the entire available spectrum. This
"spread spectrum" technique reduces the power density and the
likelihood of interference with other signals operating in the
same bands. And radio scanners pick up only static. Regular
analog cordless phone conversations can be freely tapped, the
US Supreme Court has ruled. The ruling stated that cordless
phone owners should have no expectation of privacy.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920603/Press Contact: Teknekron,
Edward Chien, 510/649-3700)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00021)

 ****ATC Looking To Sell Out 06/03/92
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- Despite a low
price won by Centel in its pending merger with Sprint, yet another
major independent phone company has decided it's time to sell-out.

Advanced Telecommunications of Atlanta, which bills itself as the
fourth-largest publicly traded long distance firm, has announced that
it is engaged in discussions concerning a possible merger. ATC
stated that no definitive agreement has been reached and that
there could be no assurance that any such definitive agreement
would be reached or that any transaction would be consummated.

ATC provides domestic and international long distance
telecommunications services to business and residential
customers. Its net income for the fiscal year ended March 31,
1992, was $24.5 million on revenues of $359.1 million.  The
common stock of ATC is traded in the National Market System
under the NASDAQ symbol ATEL.

While ATC did not mention the name of the company it was
negotiating with, speculation centered on LDDS of Jackson,
Mississippi, which has been buying smaller companies for stock
for some time, and Williams Telecommunications of Tulsa,
Oklahoma. The Wiltel deal sounded more likely, since it has been
looking for a way to get into the regular long-distance market --
it presently re-sells capacity in bulk to the major companies and
demand has been dropping. ATC would also offer WilTel
management expertise. For its part, WilTel could offer ATC
access to more capital and digital calling capacity, since it has
an 11,000 mile fiber network running along gas pipelines and
railroad lines.

Only last month ATC had announced plans to offer new digital
services to businesses, especially those handling credit-card
authorizations, and detailed plans to expand its calling card
services. A link with WilTel would make those plans viable to
many customers. WilTel might also be interested in ATC's
investment in Innova Systems, a small Atlanta-based start-up
handling credit authorizations.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920603/Press Contact: Advanced
Telecommunications Patrick E. Delaney, 404/261-5885)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00022)

New International Direct Dial Services 06/03/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- It's getting
easier all the time to call internationally. AT&T has announced it
will provide international direct-dial service from the United
States to 11 more countries and areas, including Antarctica.

As outlined yesterday in a filing with the FCC, the following
countries and areas will receive direct-dial service beginning
June 15: Antarctica's Casey Base and Scott Base, Lebanon; the
Mongolian People's Republic; the South Pacific islands of Niue,
Norfolk Island, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna Islands;
and the Indian Ocean islands of Diego Garcia and Christmas and
Cocos Islands. Consumers dial 011, followed by a country code,
city code and local number to reach one of these destinations.

On a more controversial note, Israel announced it will open long
distance contacts with its fiercest enemies; Iraq, Libya, and
Syria. Its efforts to open such contacts with 10 more moderate
Arab states March 26 drew howls of protests from local
authorities, but could not really be stopped, since it's
impossible for telephone switches to really know the point of
origination for an international call. Since the first links were
opened in March, thousands of phone calls have taken place daily,
according to the nation's communications minister.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920603/Press Contact: AT&T, Mark Siegel,
908/221-8413)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00023)

Airline Fare Cuts Break Call Records 06/03/92
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1992 JUNE 3 (NB) -- Phones
at the nation's airlines are ringing off the hook -- literally. Since
American Airlines started a round of deep summertime fare
cutting last month, which was matched by its rivals, vacationers
have been having increasingly hard times getting through.

AT&T announced that on June 2 it handled 177.4 million calls on
its own network, breaking all previous records for the most calls
placed in one day. The company had set its previous record five
days earlier, taking 159.6 million calls. Heaviest volumes were
reported to toll-free 800 lines, like those used by the nation's
airlines. Average calling volumes over the AT&T network are
135-140 million per day.

Calls to the airlines have been especially high since many
travelers and financial analysts feel this may be the last round
of airfare wars among the major carriers. Weaker airlines like US
Air, Continental, and TWA, some of which are already operating
under bankruptcy law protection, could be forced out of business
by matching cuts made by American, United, and Delta, the
nation's three strongest carriers. The result would be an
oligopoly and permanently higher fares. Before launching the
latest round of fare cuts, in fact, American had tried to
simplify its fares to replace a system where fares changed
regularly in an attempt to fill seats at maximum revenue.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920603/Press Contact: AT&T, Dan
Lawler, 908/234-5254)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00024)

New Long Distance Calling Plans Announced 06/03/92
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, U.S.A,. 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- While
America's airlines go through the last-gasps of a deregulatory
fever expected to lead to an oligopoly, with just a few strong
carriers offering uniformly high fares to the traveling public,
the nation's large phone companies continue to struggle with
their pricing policies.

Complication is the name of the game. It's very hard to judge
just how to buy service, since MCI, AT&T, and Sprint all have
multiple calling plans offering "big savings." The most popular
such plan, MCI's Friends and Family, offers 20 percent discounts
to members of a "calling circle" who all use that network. After
running ads critical of the idea on privacy grounds, AT&T
recently offered a version of the same plan for its business
customers.

Now comes Sprint with its "The Most" plan. This plan, too,
offers a 20 percent discount. But unlike the competing plan, it's
automatic. The discount goes to whomever you call the most --
even internationally -- even if the called person is with a
competitive long distance carrier.  When the most-frequently
called number in a given month is a Sprint customer, however,
Sprint will combine both discounts for an effective overall
savings of 36 percent.

MCI, meanwhile, countered with its "MCI Around the World" calling
plan. MCI Around the World offers low fixed plan rates to 53
countries and places during plan hours and a five percent savings
off MCI's regular rates to remaining locations. Subscribers
receive a special MCI Around the World calling card that will
enable them to receive an additional five percent savings, 24 hours
a day, when using their card to call to more than 250
international locations covered under the plan.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920603/Press Contact: Sprint, Robin
Pence, 202-828-7454; Kate Fralin, MCI, 703-415-6941)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00025)

AT&T Phone Strike Still Possible 06/03/92
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- Unions
representing AT&T workers were turning pessimistic that they could
avoid striking the nation's largest phone company as talks on a new
three-year contract dragged on. The Communication Workers of
America said if a deal is not struck by the end of June 3, it would
seriously consider a walk-out or other job action. The union
contracts expired over the weekend.

AT&T has offered a nine percent wage hike over the length of the
new contract. But the unions want a deal more in line with what the
Nynex group took during previous negotiations when, following a
four-month walkout, those workers got a 13 percent wage hike,
greater organizing flexibility, and health insurance fully paid by
the company. AT&T says it needs more "flexibility" to compete
with domestic and international phone firms. Spokesman Herb
Linnen, noting that the unions have threatened a worldwide
boycott against his firm, called that curious, since competitors
are non-union.

If a strike is called, it's not expected to have much impact on
service. Nynex service was not disrupted during its strike, and
the phone networks are even more automated than before, which is
why phone companies are not rehiring retired workers and even
encouraging older workers to leave. AT&T could also threaten to
hire permanent replacements for any strikers, which broke a
strike earlier this year against Caterpillar, a heavy equipment
maker. The unions, meanwhile, feel they must hold firm since
they're strong at AT&T and any contract there could become a
model for the rest of the industry. Contracts with the six regional
Bells, exclusive of Nynex, are due to expire soon.

AT&T and its unions reached a contract in 1989 without a strike,
but in 1986, the Communication Workers held a 26-day strike
before agreeing to a contract.

(Dana Blankenhorn/19920603)


(NEWS)(TELECOM)(ATL)(00026)

Packet Cellular Network Moves Ahead 06/03/92
ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO, U.S.A., 1992 JUNE 3 (NB) -- Cellular
Data of Mountain View, California, has found a partner for its 2,400
bits-per-second (bps) cellular packet network, while a manufacturer
was chosen to make equipment for a competing system.

Scheduled to be up and running in Pueblo, Colorado this August,
the new network is based on CDI's Cellular Plan 1, one of two major
packet switching cellular plans currently in the works, said Monty
Rhodes, manager of strategic applications for Cellular Inc., the
local service provider.

"There's a debate going on in the cellular industry right now.
Everybody recognizes that data is going to be a very large
component of the contributions to our companies.  But we're
looking for alternatives outside of standard switched cellular, due
to the load switched cellular technology would place on our
systems," he told Newsbytes.

The CDI technology runs data through the small bandwidths
betweeen cellular calling frequencies. It's aimed at laptop computer
users and, perhaps more important, would allow credit card
authorizations to take place just about anywhere. Such "bursts"
represent the largest share of the packet market.

Cellular Inc. chose the CDI plan over IBM/McCaw's Cellular Plan 2
because it is already available, and will be sufficient to handle
small, bursty and easily packetized nature of most of the company's
customer applications, said Rhodes.  These applications include
retail store polling, messaging among palmtop and pen computers,
telemetry, process control.

Cellular 1 makes use of the narrow gaps, or guard bands, between
cellular voice band channels, he said.  Cellular 2, on the other
hand, is expected to provide greater bandwidth, through "channel
hopping," or grabbing voice band channels that become available
between cellular voice calls.

"IBM/McCaw hopes to have something available over the next year.
But basically, our customers have needs today, and we want to
move forward now," asserted Rhodes.

CDI wants to offer data over cellular because the technology offers
cheaper and less expensive point-to-point links than fixed
transmission lines can, he added.

CDI will supply Cellular Inc. with the packet data network hardware
and software it has developed, said Less Horsman, marketing
manager.  The system includes Sun-based network management,
a communications gateway, an operating system, application
development support, and subscriber equipment, to consist of a
box that attaches to a cellular phone.

Cellular Inc. is still working out pricing details with its customers,
said Rhodes.  But the company has determined that pricing will
be usage based, and will fall in the general range of $25 to $50
a month.

Meanwhile, Pacific Communication Sciences announced it has
been named the prime contractor in support of the new Cellular
Digital Packet Data specification development project. This
technology, called CelluPath by IBM, would run data through
unused call channels within cells. Nine of the nation's leading
cellular carriers are supporting the proposal, which could send
data as fast as 19,200 bps. Field trials of the system will begin
in June of 1992.

(Dana Blankenhorn & Jacqueline Emigh/19920603/Press Contact:
Cellular, Monty Rhodes, 303/694-8902; Cellular Data, Lee Horsman,
415/964-5474; Pacific Communication Sciences, Kim Fedderly-
Gower, 619/535-9500)


(NEWS)(GENERAL)(SFO)(00027)

Retix And Oracle Unveil Oracle Mail X.400 Gateway 06/03/92
SANTA MONICA, CA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- Oracle Mail
has joined the growing list of proprietary electronic mail systems
that can be connected over X.400 public network backbones.

In a joint statement yesterday, Retix and Oracle unveiled an X.400
gateway that, when used with Retix's OpenServer messaging server,
will enable users of Oracle Mail to communicate with public e-mail
subscribers, as well as with users of other proprietary e-mail
systems equipped with gateways to the X.400 networks.

In an interview with Newsbytes, Bruce Stevens, vice president
of Oracle's Office Automation Products Division, noted that AT&T,
Sprint, MCI, Genie, and most major public network providers have
already linked their services together through the shared X.400
protocol.  In addition, he said, increasing numbers of private
companies are installing gateways to these services. "There are
new implementations all the time," he commented.

The X.400 standard will pick up further strength in the future, he
predicted, as developers gradually overcome early difficulties with
protocol implementation. "The standard is large and complex, and
it's continued to evolve over its first eight years.  But for
communications between one large e-mail system and another,
there's really no direct competition to X.400," he told Newsbytes.

Because the X.400 standard defines a specification for the e-mail
user interface, the protocol might ultimately become an important
factor in the end user connection, as well, he added.  Many
vendors have been working on developing an easy-to-use X.400
interface, and a few have succeeded already, he reported.

"Right now, widescale implementation of end-to-end X.400
connectivity does seems a ways out," he acknowledged.  "But the
standard is still so new that it would be quite a stripe in
anyone's shirt to say exactly how this capability will shake out."

In developing the X.400 gateway, Oracle worked with Retix in beta
testing and product demonstrations, and the companies will now
collaborate in marketing, selling, and supporting the gateway.
These and other recent partnerships reflect an increasing
recognition by Oracle of the need for partnership, Stevens told
Newsbytes.

"Oracle has a long history of going it alone. But as the company
matures, we're realizing that this approach isn't sufficient any
more. So partnerships with other companies are going to
become very, very frequent," he maintained.

Pricing for the Oracle Mail X.400 Gateway begins at $10 per
Oracle Mail mailbox (with a minimum of 500 mailboxes).  The
product is already shipping.

(Jacqueline Emigh/Press contact: Steve Lai, Oracle, tel 415-
506-3117)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(DEN)(00028)

 ****Stockholder Suit Claims Aldus Inflated Growth Projections 06/03/92
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- Two Aldus
stockholders have filed suit against Aldus Corporation, claiming the
company inflated its growth projections.

The suit, filed as a class action, also contends that the company
withheld information about the status of some key executives while
corporate officers sold nearly $9 million in stock during an 11
month period ending April 21.

Attorney Steve Berman, who represents the two stockholders,
said damages could run into the tens of millions of dollars. The
suit did not request a specific amount in damages.

In addition to the company itself, the suit names as defendants six
officers and former officers who allegedly sold more than 225,000
shares of stock for nearly $9 million between mid-May of last year
and late April. Aldus co-founder Paul Brainerd was not named
in the suit.

During the period in question, Aldus stock prices ranged from $59 to
$19 per share. Aldus closed yesterday at $20.38.

Aldus spokesperson Jill Miller said company officials have not yet
seen the suit, and could not comment.

Jim Mallory/19920603/Press contact: Jill Miller, Aldus Corporation,
206-628-2352; Steve Berman, 206-292-9988)


(NEWS)(BUSINESS)(SFO)(00029)

 ****Dell Computer To Pre-install Novell Netware 06/03/92
PROVO, UTAH, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 03 (NB) -- Dell Computer and
Novell have introduced a new program for Dell customers. From this
point onwards, customers who wish to acquire Novell's Netware 3.11
canhave it be installed on their machines prior to the machine's
having left the Dell factory.

In a press conference held today, details of the plan were made
public. Attending the conference were Michael Dell, Marty Sayer,
Richard VanDyke, and Glen Henry of Dell. Representing Novell were
Jan Newman, John Edwards, and Mary Burnside.

Michael Dell spoke of how this announcement represents a
significant step in the continuing strategic relationship between
Novell and Dell. Glen Henry who is Dell's senior vice president of
the Product Group spoke of the advantages inherenet in this
arrangement.

According to Henry, customers will see three main advantages in
this arrangement: time savings from not having to perform the
installation themselves; Dell and Novell guarantee the validation for
the equipment and the setup; installation cost savings in getting
the proper modules installed in the right places.

Both companies have been working on this arrangement for about
six months now. The main hurdle had been the ability to install the
Novell software automatically on the machines at the factory. This
hurdle had been overcome by Dell and Novell engineers working
together over the last few months in extending Dell's software and
in modifying portions of Novell's software. This technology is
expected to be used to install other parts of Novell's product line
on Dell machines in the future, although the executives at the
press conference refused to elaborate further.

Netware Lite is already being pre-installed by Novell. With this
announcement, Netware 3.11 is also being pre-installed. Dell
executives ruled out extending the technology to Netware 2.2
although the Novell officials claimed that it should be possible
to install version 2.2 as well.

(Naor Wallach/19920603, Press Contact: Roger Rydell, Dell
Computer, 512-338-4400, Kelli Christiansen, Novell, 801-429-5933)


(NEWS)(GOVT)(LAX)(00030)

 ****Creative Labs Suing Media Vision For Reverse Engineering 06/03/92
MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1992 JUN 3 (NB) -- Creative Labs,
makers of the Sound Blaster audio card for IBM and compatible
personal computers is suing Media Vision, makes of the
Thunderboard audio card.

Creative Labs' representative Shell Israel of SIPR told Newsbytes
the company's claim in a nutshell is Media Vision reversed
engineered its Sound Blaster product in order to produce the
Thunderboard.

The suit was filed May 29 in the federal district court in San
Francisco and asserts that Media Vision infringed upon Creative
Lab's copyrights in software relating to the Sound Blaster line of
products.

Abigail Johnson, a Media Vision representative, told Newsbytes the
company believes the suit is without merit and plans to defend
vigorously against it. No further comments were available from
Media Vision.

Fremont, California-based Media Vision just announced a new
hardware product that incorporates a 24-bit high resolution video
graphics array (VGA) support and an 8-bit sound on the same card,
which it calls "Thunder and Lightening" at the Summer Consumer
Electronics Show (CES) in Chicago.

(Linda Rohrbough/19920602/Press Contact: Shell Israel, SIPR, tel 408-
437-1880; Abigail Johnson, Roeder-Johnson, tel [phone], fax 415-
347-5238; Claire Merriam, Media Vision, tel [phone], fax 510-
770-9592, 510-226-2582)